WASHINGTON — It was her stance on abortions that carried Texas Sen. Wendy Davis into the national spotlight, but it wasn’t the reason for her trip this week to Washington.

A more progressive Texas, not abortion, was the focus for Davis, who attended two fundraisers and multiple meetings with members of Congress and local groups Thursday.

“People all across Texas are starting to stand and see that basic Texas values are being abused and abandoned by state leaders,” she told a group of 400 at one of the fundraisers. They paid between $25 and $250 to crowd into a bar Thursday evening to hear the Fort Worth Democrat speak.

“Those weren’t just Democrats assembled to complain about Republicans,” she said, referring to the hundreds who flooded the state Capitol last month during her filibuster of an abortion bill. “They were Texans.”

During the first of two planned trips to Washington, Davis kept busy with events that included a fundraiser breakfast and a Twitter town hall session. She also had a meeting with Emily’s List, a political action committee that works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights.

Matt Angle, founder of the Lone Star Project, which has worked with Davis since 2007, said she is bringing Texas liberals out of the shadows.

“I’ve seen Texans show up in the last two to three days I haven’t seen in a long time,” Angle said. “They’re kinda tired of being embarrassed by Rick Perry and Republicans who have really reflected badly on our state.”

One of the fundraiser’s attendees, Alexandra Ritchie, 33, lived in Austin for seven years before moving to Washington in 2005. More than once, she has found herself defending Texas as others knocked the state and its leaders.

“I constantly have to counter all of these negative stereotypes about Texas,” she said. “It’s about time we have a change in the system.”

Davis will return to Washington on Aug. 5 to speak at a luncheon at the National Press Club.

She is scheduled to discuss “the political climate in Texas and Washington, and her future plans.”

Those in attendance at Thursday’s events made it clear that they hope she’ll stay on the political stage after that.